Two new major national polls show President Obama’s approval ratings making solid improvement, and putting him close to the 50% threshold that is seen as key for an incumbent seeking reelection. In addition, the polls suggest that Obama could be doing better than the Congressional Republicans in their ongoing political fights.
The new ABC/Washington Post poll gives Obama an approval rating of 49%, to 47% disapproval. This is up from the previous ABC/WaPo poll from a month ago, which had a figure of 44%-53%. The new survey of adult Americans was conducted from December 15-18, and has a ±3.5% margin of error.
Very similarly, the new CNN poll gives President Obama an approval rating of 49%-48%. This is up significantly from the CNN poll from a month ago, when his approval was 44%-54%. The new survey of adults Americans was conducted from December 16-18, and has a ±3% margin of error.
The ABC/WaPo poll also showed the public trusting Obama more than Congressional Republicans, on a variety of issues:
Who do you trust to do a better job [ITEM] – (Obama) or (the Republicans in Congress)?
a. Handling the economy — Obama 44%, Republicans 40%.
b. Creating jobs — Obama 44%, Republicans 41%.
c. Protecting the middle class — Obama 50%, Republicans 35%.
d. Handling taxes — Obama 46%, Republicans 41%.
The CNN poll had only a simple version of this question, with a very good result for Obama: “Do you have more confidence in President Obama or in the Republicans in Congress to deal with the major issues facing the country today?”
The numbers: Obama 50%, Republicans 31%.
